Explaining the ruling on error and forgetfulness in the prohibitions of the Shari'ah. And explaining the character of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in the matter of rebuking others.

The Shaykh : I wish one of you would resolve this issue. This man spoke during the prayer, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did not order him to repeat it. Yes.
The student: Because he was ignorant.

The Shaykh : The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did not order him to repeat it. Our brother says: Because he was ignorant. But if someone were to say that one is not excused for ignorance in speaking during prayer, because it contradicts prayer absolutely, and one is not excused for ignorance in it, and perhaps the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered him to repeat the prayer but it was not transmitted to us, is there a possibility or not? Is there a possibility that the Messenger ordered him, but it was not transmitted to us? What is the answer? The answer is that we must know a principle indicated by the Book and the Sunnah, which is: "Error and forgetfulness in the prohibited matters do not entail any consequence". Once more: "Error and forgetfulness in the prohibited matters do not entail any consequence". All the prohibited matters in acts of worship, if they occur due to error or forgetfulness, then nothing is entailed by them, ever. What is the evidence? Allah the Exalted said: . The Generous, the Bestower said: meaning, We do not hold you accountable if you forget or make a mistake. Good. And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: . Hmm, . And eating and drinking in fasting, does it invalidate it or not?
The student: It invalidates it.

The Shaykh : It invalidates it, but if it occurs due to forgetfulness, it does not invalidate it. Clear? Good. This man spoke while he was praying. Did he speak while praying out of ignorance or knowledge?
The student: Out of ignorance.

The Shaykh : Out of ignorance. Then his prayer is valid and not invalidated. And if someone brings up the point that perhaps he was ordered to repeat it but it was not transmitted, we say the original state is the absence of the order. And because if repeating it had been obligatory upon him—and take this, may Allah reward you, this is important for seeking knowledge—if repeating it had been obligatory upon him, then repeating it would be from the Shari'ah of Allah. Do you agree with this or not? Hmm.
The student: Yes.

The Shaykh : Good. If repeating it had been obligatory, it would have been from the Shari'ah of Allah. And if it is from the Shari'ah of Allah, is it possible for it to be neglected and not transmitted to the servants of Allah? No, it is impossible. This is because Allah says: . So just as Allah preserved His Book, He preserved His Shari'ah which is contained in His Book. Clear, brothers? So we say: if a man speaks in prayer while forgetting or out of ignorance, his prayer is valid. If your door is knocked on while you are praying, and you forget and say "come in" while you are praying, do we say "repeat the prayer"? Hmm.
The student: Forgetting.

The Shaykh : Yes, forgetting, forgetting. You mean, when you heard the bell, for example, or the door was knocked on, you said "come in" while you were praying, forgetting. Your prayer...
The student: Is valid.

The Shaykh : ...is valid. Your prayer is valid because of this principle, whose root is in the Book of Allah and whose branches are in the Sunnah of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him).
Good. What are we talking about now? We are talking about how the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) called to the religion of Allah with all ease and simplicity. In fasting too. In fasting, . Look, Allah is the Greatest. It happened to his family in Ramadan while he was fasting. How did the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) respond to it? Did he respond with harshness, rebuke, and scolding? No. He responded with what heals this wound. He prescribed the medicine for him and said: . So the man benefited. No, . He did not have anything. All these characteristics of the expiation were not present in this man. . Subhan Allah, meaning, up to this point. Look, because the man was reassured. He was reassured by the state of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), and his chest opened up, until his previous fear and panic turned into what? Into hope. Into hope. And for this reason, . Subhan Allah. A man came out of his family in a state of what?
The student: Fear.

The Shaykh : Fear and panic. He returned to his family with dates, and they were poor. And what do you think if dates came to poor people? Hmm, they would be very happy with them. Look at how the Shari'ah is. But if someone came to you seeking this fatwa, saying that he had intercourse with his wife during the day of Ramadan while fasting, what is the answer? I believe, and Allah knows best, that the one asked would say, "O so-and-so, are you not ashamed of yourself? Do you not fear Allah? The night is near, so be patient," and the like. This is what is expected from some people. But if a man comes to us repentant, seeking deliverance, brothers, the repentant one who seeks deliverance says, "I fell into this sin I committed. Do we respond to him with scolding and blame? Absolutely not. Control yourself, my brother. Do not seek victory for yourself. Seek victory for Allah the Mighty and Majestic. Call to Allah, not to yourself. Control yourself. If you have jealousy and anger for the sanctities of Allah, control yourself and do as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did. You will not find a caller, and no caller has existed, with a broader chest and more knowledge of Allah and of what befits the servants of Allah than the Messenger Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him). Follow his path, and you will be upon good.
We find some people today who do not represent this path and this character of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). They rebuke with the strongest rebuke a man about whom they do not know the reason for his falling into this prohibition or his leaving of an obligation. They shout in his face and scream. Pride in sin takes him, and he says, "I do not accept from you, and I do not agree with you, go away." And perhaps he insults the religion because of him—and may Allah protect us from that. So gentleness and softness are all good, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: . Good. A man found a chaste person walking with a woman in the market. Some people of jealousy come to him and curse him: "Are you not ashamed of yourself? What is this woman with you? What is this woman riding in the car?" Is this correct or not correct? As long as the man is chaste and no accusation is raised around him, you have no right to speak this speech. This is his wife. If your wife were with you and someone spoke about you like this speech, would you criticize him or not? You would criticize him. So do not be like this. . Meaning, the consequence of the haste of some people: if he saw this man sitting, what does he say to him? Hmm, he says to him: "Come, stand up and pray two rak'ahs. Stand up and pray two rak'ahs." But the Prophet asked first: did this man leave what he was ordered to do or not? He said: . So if you see a person leaving an obligation, do not rebuke him until you look to see if he did this obligation or not? Did he leave this obligation for an excuse that drops the obligation or not? So the important thing, may Allah reward you, is that it is obligatory for the caller to be knowledgeable about the conditions of those he calls to. And the conditions are four, as I told you. And that we place each person in his condition, so that he may follow the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and reform the servants of Allah. And perhaps some of you will bring up to me a sound hadith, which is that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) saw a man wearing a gold ring, so the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) took it from his hand, from his finger, and threw it away without saying anything to him except that he said: . How do we reconcile this action of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) with the previous examples: the one who urinated in the mosque, the one who spoke in prayer, and the one who had intercourse with his wife during the day of Ramadan while fasting? How do we reconcile this and this? The treatment of this man who was wearing gold was certainly harsher. So why did the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) not treat him as he treated those people? Yes.
The student: ...

The Shaykh : Yes, we say because the condition of this man who was wearing it required that this action be done to him. It is as if the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) had knowledge that this man was being negligent, that he was being careless with his action, so he placed him in his station. And for this reason, the hudud were legislated for sins, and the ta'zir were legislated, even though the hudud contain something of what? Of harshness for the one who is subjected to them. But it is mercy for him and for others. Pay attention to this so that you do not cast doubt upon Islam. The hudud contain harshness, no doubt, but it is a harshness that includes mercy and wisdom. Does anyone know the aspect in which it is mercy for the punished, the one subjected to the hudud? Yes.
The student: ...

The Shaykh : Yes.
The student: Because it is expiation for him.

The Shaykh : It is valid because it is a declaration of disbelief against him; the punishment expiates the sin that resulted from this transgression. It is also a wisdom, for it deters him and others from committing this sin for which the hadd was established. So, every occasion has its own appropriate response. Finally, it is obligatory for the da'iyah (caller to Islam) to be the first to comply with what he calls people to, because Allah says: And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) informed that he meaning his intestines, and may Allah protect us from that It was mentioned in the biography of Ibn al-Jawzi (may Allah have mercy on him), the famous preacher and one of the Hanbalis, that a slave came to him and said: "My master harms me and makes things difficult for me, and I am asking you to preach to the people about freeing slaves, perhaps my master will free me, so I will become a Muslim." He said to him, "I will do so." He used to preach to the people on Friday. One or two Fridays, or more, passed, and he did not say anything about freeing slaves. Then he spoke about it, encouraged it, and made it desirable. The master of this slave was present, so the people freed their slaves, including this master, and including this slave whose master had been harming him. The slave came to Ibn al-Jawzi and asked, "Why did you delay your speech about freeing slaves?" He said, "Because I did not find anything to buy a slave with to free him, so I waited until I bought a slave to free him, and then I would command the people to free slaves." "Subhan Allah! Because the impact of a sermon from a sincere person who does what he says is more effective than its impact from a person who does not do what he says. And I ask Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) to make me and you among those who call to Allah, do good, and say, 'Indeed, I am among the Muslims.'"
The student : A question, O Shaykh

The Shaykh : Yes, yes.